1. Field of the Invention
It is well known that flexible garments made for protection from ballistic threats are not necessarily effective against stabbing by knives or sharp pointed instruments. The converse is also true--penetration resistant articles are not necessarily effective against ballistic threats. This invention relates to articles which provide protection from threats of ice pick and knife penetration and, also, ballistic threats.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,358, issued Nov. 26, 1996, on the application of Foy et al. discloses a penetration-resistant structure made from woven aramid yarns having particularly low linear density.
International Publication No. WO 93/00564, published Jan. 7, 1993, discloses ballistic structures using layers of fabric woven from high tenacity para-aramid yarn.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,769, issued Dec. 5, 1995, as an example of attempts to provide both puncture resistance and ballistic resistance, describes a combination of knitted aramid yarn layers and deflection layers of materials such as metal wire.
European Patent Application No. 670,466, published Sep. 6, 1995, describes a ballistic and stab-resistant system wherein the knife stab resistance is imparted by embedding chainmail in a polymer resin.